Rebirth
by Timelady Alice2
Summary: "I miss you Rue. I wish you were here…" "I am, Katniss, I am." Rue responded quietly. She brushed her hand over Katniss's cheek. She knew that Katniss could not hear or feel her, but she still felt comforted to think that she could still speak and touch Katniss, even if she could not have any idea she was there. The Mutts. What if they were human? R & R more summary inside! -TLA-
1. Rue

**Rebirth**

Chapter one; The Mutts and the souls

Rue Averbury had died long ago- since she was gone, Katniss had made a family and was now 27. She did not mind anymore. Except the fact that she had left her friend Katniss and her family behind. She always enjoyed to follow people from when she was alive. She smiled as she walked behind Katniss as she walked across the meadow where her children, Prill and Luca played. Now her new daughter, Ruess, was ten, and they were a very happy family. Rue walked forward to stand near her. Suddenly, Katniss said:

"I miss you Rue. I wish you were here…"

"I am, Katniss, I am." Rue responded quietly. She brushed her hand over Katniss's cheek. She knew that Katniss could not hear or feel her, but she still felt comforted to think that she could still speak and touch Katniss, even if she could not have any idea she was there. Slowly she walked over to a hill in the meadow and sat, criss cross apple-sauce. She sighed, remembering her horrible death.

_I sat by the tree, cutting some berries from a bush with thorns. I heard a crack behind me. Spinning around to see what it was, I leapt up to my feet. That was not a good decision. The District one boy was standing there, Panting, spear in hand, fire in his eyes. _

_"Aaargh!" He shouted his cry of victory and ran towards me. I spun, trying to find the closest tree I could, but the One boy had much longer legs than me. _

_"Katniss!" I quickly whistled my Mockingjay tune. The Mockingjays joined in. _

_I was running. My heart thumping in my chest, knowing each beat might be its last. My feet pounded on the ground in their Green Tennis-shoes from my Stylists. I kept running, the horrible boy almost literally at my ankles. I pumped my legs faster. I was smaller than him, I was. But that was good and bad. I cried out and circled around the camp, hoping Katniss could hear me and save me. She would not be able to find me if I left the camp, so I kept circling. Around. And around. And around once again. A circle of death. I knew I could not keep going like this, but if I stopped to climb a tree, he would peg me to it with the spear. Finally, he went inside the center of the circle, taking the position of a Sumo-warrior. He crouched in his Gorilla-like form, slowly circling, following my every step. There on the ground, just a second before I fell, I noticed a red cloth on the ground, and Slipped. A huge net came and caught me up, the ropes scraping my skin. I started bleeding. He came barreling through the trees, ready to kill. I lay there on the ground, disoriented, hurt, confused, and horribly, horribly sad. I lay there, flailing, screaming and begging him,_

_"Please- no! Please! Please don't! At least, make it fast! Please! I am begging you- I'm only a little girl!" I sob, and flail more, slowly stopping and laying flat on the ground, my lungs stinging, My breath catching in my throat. I vomited on his foot. He shakes his head, and says in a rough, dirty voice:_

_"No honey, I'm gonna make this exciting for the audience." I cry once more, and whisper good-bye to my siblings and mother and family- and Katniss. I hope she makes it. I give her all my love, I send it to her, touching two fingers to my mouth and blowing a kiss of my good luck wish in the direction she went. He did not like that. He took his heavy foot and kicked my chest, making me cry out and grit my teeth. _

_"Why Me!?" I scream in pain. _

_"Cuz I'm gonna get rich, baby." He sneers at me. I try to think of the happiest things I can- me playing in the forest with my siblings, mother Hugging me, daddy holding my hand and teaching me how to speak to the animals and plants…Katniss telling me She'd like to make an Alliance….Posy hugging me, calling me big sissy. But that is over quickly._

_He takes out a Knife and stabs my shoulder through the netting of the trap. I scream again. _

_"Mama!" I shout. _

_"Calling for your Mommy to come save you, Huh? Well that Ain't gonna happen." He pulls out his Spear. "Surprise. Have some nightmares for me, will ya?" And he plunges the Razor sharp Spear into my stomach. I scream and scream with surprising power, the sound echoing off all the trees and scaring away some birds. They flutter away into the blue sky. The pain almost literally rips apart my abdomen, searing it's way all the way to my fingertips and toes. I cry more, saying I love you to all of my family. He slowly walks backward, admiring his work. I turn my head as I hear an almost inaudible crunch. Behind District one boy- I think he's maybe named Marvel- stands Katniss, golden in the sunlight. She gapes when she sees me, spear in my body, trapped in the net. She hollers and crashes through the trees, shooting Marvel with her Arrows as she goes. She pays him no heed. She heads straight towards me, grabbing the rope net with her fingers. I groan in pain. I can't hold it back. She cries suddenly, yowling in sadness. I cry with her. _

_"Katniss…Katniss…..it's Okay…Go on, live…before the Careers…come see what happened….to their friend…."I whisper with all my strength, reaching out a trembling, weak hand to brush her hair out of her eyes._

_"I'm always going to be with you, Katniss…..Always….Good Luck…Win for me, will you….?" She nods hurriedly, brushing my hair._

_"Sing for me, please?" I ask, hoping that the last thing I hear is her wonderfully kind voice singing. _

_"Yes, of course Rue." She then starts to sing the most beautiful song ever. _

_"Deep in the meadow, under the willow  
A bed of grass, a soft green pillow  
Lay down your head, and close your sleepy eyes  
And when again they open, the sun will rise. _

_Here it's safe, here it's warm  
Here the daisies guard you from every harm  
Here your dreams are sweet and tomorrow brings them true  
Here is the place where I love you. _

_Deep in the meadow, hidden far away  
A cloak of leaves, a moonbeam ray  
Forget your woes and let your troubles lay  
And when again it's morning, they'll wash away. _

_Here it's safe, here it's warm  
Here the daisies guard you from every harm  
Here your dreams are sweet And tomorrow brings them true  
Here is the place where I love you." She sings softly. _

_"Thank you, Katniss…I love you like you are my big sister."_

_"And I love you like you are my little sister. In fact, you are." She whimpers and sits with me, singing the song again and again. Slowly, my sight starts becoming tube-like. Like I'm looking through a Toilet paper telescope that is slowly getting smaller, smaller, until my last living sight is a Mockingjay flying across the Blue sky. Katniss's Golden Mockingjay. _

Tears still come to her eyes when she thinks of that. She looks into the sky sadly.

"Huh?!" She says, confusedly staring at the bright lights in the blue sky that move down to the ground like a stairway that glows with every step you take.

"Oh. Prim." The form of a girl- no, three girls- slowly float down. The redhead and Prim hold hands and the black haired one follows. They walk down in the sky like it is a stairwell. Finally, they hop down onto the ground in front of Rue, smiling.

"Hi, Rue! How's the Afterlife going for you?"

"Hey there, Prim, Akiko, Teagan. Everythings fine enough. Remembered My death a minute ago, so not everything is perfect, but, oh well." She shrugs. The Japanese girl, Akiko, smiles and watches Katniss walk away. She wasn't from Panem before she died- she died in a horrible bombing in the land called Sheng-hei-lour. The redhead named Teagan is from the land that used to be Ireland, but is now Graonlainn, which means The Green lands- but she had lived here in Panem near the end of her life since her father wanted to fight for the Mockingjay cause, and her mother would not let him go all alone.

"Still so sad about your death? I'm sorry." Prim says sweetly. "I'm going to go visit Buttercup." She raises a finger in the air and turns around, walking towards the Victors neighborhood.

"Cool. See you later." Akiko waves and says "I think I'll go take a walk over there." She points to the woods beyond the crushed metal fence. Rue nodded. After Akiko was halfway across the meadow, Teagan and Rue still stood and sat there awkwardly for a moment.

"Can I sit?" She gestured towards the ground.

"Sure." Rue patted the spot next to her.

"Kay'. Thanks." She settled in beside her, accidentally touching her. Her skin and clothing glowed like the northern lights, turned transparent and sunk halfway into Rue's leg. "Oops," She scooted away an inch or two. "That Ghost skin stuff is weird, huh? I'm always accidentally falling through stuff. Always gotta _want_ not to fall through. It's so annoying." She shook her head, agitated.

"Yeah." They sat there awkwardly quiet for a long while. When Rue turned her head, Teagan was staring at her admiringly, but quickly turned her face away.

"This is awesome." Teagan said loudly into the foggy silence, making Rue jump.

"What? That we're dead? That our families will never see us again and think we are dead, floating in nothingness? Our bodies are in the Forever Slumber house!"Rue stood up angrily, shouting mostly at the sky. " We are being preserved in Panem's floating chambers, our skin cold, our family and friends weeping for us! So what. Is. So. Awesome. About. This? We're 'at peace'? What? Really, what is it?!" She shouted, and fell down to the ground, sobbing. Teagan crawled over calmly, rubbing her back soothingly.

"That we are at least together with other new friends here. You have something very close to Katniss with you, Prim. I have my sister, Nevaeh here. You have your sister, the one who died as a baby, Keira here. We have ourselves, Prim, Akiko, Nevaeh, Keira, and Seneca!"

"Don't forget Claudia, Revel and Balthazar." Rue said. She never was one to forget a friend.

"Never on _earth_ would I forget Claudia- _oh_ wait, you forgot to mention her much worse friend, Araminta!" Araminta and Claudia were _very_ eccentric. They had bright beads in their tangled hair, raggedy baggy wool dresses with strange mystical signs printed on them in berry juice, billions of unusual necklaces, arm bracelets, and many, many leg hoops. Araminta had red colored skin with golden tattoos from the capitol, and Claudia had orange skin, cat's eyes, cat ears and a tiger tail. Araminta had a Bright red hat that said "Go Wierdos" on it. They were always barefoot, too.

"You know what? We haven't visited those guys in a while. Want to go to Claudia and Araminta's place and pick up the others on the way?"

"Sure!" Teagan hopped up happily. "I'll get Revel, Prim and Akiko. You go get the others." Rue agreed and went on her way, simply running up into the sky until she was high enough to get flying. There she went over the golden fields, Green lush forests, abandoned cities, towns, Lakes and so much more. The ghost buildings were Very hidden. After a few minutes, Rue slowed at a pine tree and shoved herself inside of it. She was at first bonked around by the heavy wooden sides, but then a small machine came out with a face on it- the checker's face.

"Name?" The face asked.

"Rue Cybele Averbury."

"Adress?" The machine asked, cocking its head to one side.

"umbra lane domus numerus 34" She Answered.

"Alright…..trick question. What does it look like when ghost skin touches something solid?"

"It becomes Transluscent and looks sort of like the northern lights."

"Correct. Welcome, Soul Averbury." A part of the bark opened up into a door like form. Instead of seeing the regular outside, Rue saw the beauty of the Afterlife-lands. The sunlight glinted in a golden light, even into the log. She clambered out, viewing her new world. The trees were tall oaks, beautiful spirits of the ones that humans had cut down. They pulsed with life, rebirth, Refreshment, and Joy. The entire place was like that. Dogs and children, Parents and grandparents, pranced around the fields of swaying daisies and flowers in the gorgeous sunlight of the meadows. All sorts of animals played and danced around. Rue smiled. It was like a much better, improved, perfect version of the living planet Earth. This was the soul of its mother: Pentatula. Everything here was alive but dead, spirits and sweet wonderful people of the past. Characters from books even lived here since they could only live in written words. It was funny, she could have sworn she had just seen Harry Potter tackling a My Little Pony behind a bush. After just watching for a moment, she remembered what she came here for and headed off, scanning around and inspecting every person, seeing if it was one of her friends. Suddenly, she spotted Octavia and Balthazar sitting in a meadow below her. She swooped down to them and told them her plans.

"Ooh, that sounds fun!" Octavia exclaimed happily, clapping her hands and flipping her long golden blond hair behind her shoulder.

"Wonderful. I think I'll join you." Balthazar said, smiling. His ruffled black hair blew wildly in the wind. He was from district 7 when he died fighting in the 62nd Hunger Games. He had been in the Arena with Octavia, his little sister, and when she died, he killed himself while killing the boy who had killed her. Rue honored him.

"Let's get Keira next!" Octavia said, grinning and lifting off of the ground. They chattered away on their flight to Keira and Seneca's tree house. Soon, they arrived on their front porch, grinning and laughing.

"Rue!" Keira shouted happily, throwing her little frail arms around Rue's neck. Rue giggled and held her close, telling her and Seneca (after he had strode out, smiling) their plans.

"Let's go!" And once again, they lifted off, flying across the meadows to Claudia and Araminta's tree house, picking up red-haired Nevaeh on the way. Finally, they touched down on the front porch of Araminta and Claudia's tree house. A giggling group of souls collected behind them. "We're here!" Shouts Teagan happily, Prim jumping up and down on her toes. From inside the tree house comes a thumping and a crashing of glass as Araminta makes her way to the door, Claudia following at her heels.

"Oh! Rue! Prim! Teagan! Revel! Seneca! Keira! Nevaeh! Balthaza-"Claudia exclaims, but squeals and wheezes when Araminta hits her in the ribs. "They know their own names, doofus." She grins at them, pulling them inside the cluttered, colorful tree house. Rue trips over the books strewn on the ground, falling on top of Teagan. She giggles nervously and pulls herself upright again, minding the books this time. They reach the porch soon, having Seneca almost fall through a window after stumbling on a crystal ball. They seat themselves on the bright red couches, Claudia brushing off magazines from the capitol and random trash. She smiles nervously. Everyone is chatting happily, having a wonderful time.

"Hey, Rue, Prim, have you guys heard of those things….uuh….Mutts? The capitol makes them for the games. I heard that Finnick Odair was brough back to life in Mutt form when his wife asked the Panem circle of leaders, and Paylor accepted her request!" Revel said, awed.

"Oh_ heck_ yes I know what Mutts are- the mean part of me became one once, remember? They tried to make me kill Katniss." Rue said grimly.

"Woah….do you think that we could possibly be requested as Mutts? Wouldn't that be great! Like rebirth….." Octavia whispered dreamily.

"Yeah! That would be so cool to be back…" Araminta exclaimed.

"And to be back with Clara….that would be my dream!"Balthazar said sadly.

"Belle would be so happy!"

"Jenna and Glossey would be too!"

"Yes, Saebel would be happy too." Seneca said softly.

"Oh, Buttercup and Mommy would be so happy!" Prim whimpered.

"Katniss. I would be with Katniss again. And Katniss would have Prim back." Rue whispered under her breath, her eyes glazing with tears.

**Whadd'ya think? Did you like? :) Please Review! No flames preffered, but I do appreciate constructive critisism. **

**Thanks  
**

**Trekka  
**


	2. Katniss

Katniss

Katniss Everdeen walked down the dirt road through the meadow on her daily walk through the entire district twelve, contemplating her thoughts and memories. Her life was good now. She had a husband and three beautiful children. Her oldest was Prill. She looked just like her, except she had her father's beautiful blue eyes. Her only son, Luca, looked just like his father, but had her gray eyes. Her youngest, seven year old Ruess looked shockingly like Rue, except her skin was lighter and hair had a slight chocolate brown tinge to it. That was why Ruess's namesake was Rue Averbury, one of Katniss's most trusted friends who was killed many years ago in her first Hunger games.

"I miss you Rue. I wish you were here." She said sadly, her hands in her coat pockets and tears in her eyes. Then, although it was a very cold winter day, a warm breeze brushed her cheek. She was comforted. Finally, she arrived at home once again. Ruess came prancing out the back yard gate, holding a bunch of daisies and Rue in her hands. Rue was her favorite flower.

"Mama! These are for you! I picked them all by myself." She squeaked proudly. Katniss took them in her hands, smelling them and smiling. They were beautiful.

"They're beautiful, Ruess honey! Thank You, you did _such_ a great job!" She patted Ruess's shoulder and hugged her side. Ruess giggled happily.

"Anything for you, Mama! You're the best mama in the world." She snuggled in closer to her chest, burying her face in Katniss's big silver parka. Katniss smiled and patted her head, telling her what a good daughter she was.

"Well honey, time to go inside- it's cold out here! Brrr!" Katniss shivered and limped to the door, Ruess clinging to her calf and sitting on her foot, hitching a ride. Katniss laughed again. She swung open the door, feeling the rush of warm air flurry to her and warm her pink face. "I'm back!" There was a thumping of feet on hard wood floor, and a flurry of white blond hair as the ten year old boy thrust himself at her from halfway down the hall. She stumbled back against the door with a crash and a thump, laughing, just when Prill meandered in, leaning on the door panel and smiling. She was 15 now, strong and brave.

"Why hello, random parka pile."

"Hello, snooty teenager." Luca teased. Katniss laughed and pulled herself from the stubborn grasp of the children and pulled of her Parka, gloves, hat and boots, putting them in the coat closet. She dusted some snow off of herself.

"Where's Peeta?"

"He's having…..a trackerjacker issue. He's in your bedroom." Prill said darkly, scowling and jerking her chin towards the stairs that lead upstairs.

"Oh no! I'll go check on him." She hurried up the stairs, commanding Luca and Ruess to stay with Prill. She opened the door hesitantly, peeking through the opening into the bright room. Peeta was laying on the fluffy bed, his face pale and his eyes squeezed shut tightly. He was grunting and grasping the back of the bed, looking strained. She walked through the opening quietly and sat on the end of the bed, watching him in pain. This was horrid.

"Peeta. Peeta, darling, it's alright, I'm here, I'm good, and I love you. You're safe. It's the trackerjacker venom, remember? I'm your wife, we've had three children together. Ruess, Prill and Luca Mellark are their names. I am Katniss Everdeen Mellark. Don't worry….." She said soothingly, brushing his bangs out of his face softly. His face softened and he loosened his grip on the back of the bed hesitantly.

"Okay…yeah, I remember…. These pictures and things they're telling me are lies…all lies….I love you, Katniss." He slowly looked better, but she wasn't convinced. He hadn't such a bad Trackerjacker hallucination in a long time- up until this week. He had been having one very day. It was getting worse every time. Slowly, nervously, he pulled one hand from the bed frame and held her hand in his. She squeezed it reassuringly.

"Come down when you're ready. The kids will be worried if I don't come downstairs soon." She kissed his forehead, rising from the bed.

"Alright darling." He smiled at her reassuringly again as she slipped through the door.

Katniss fell into the kitchen chair, picking up the _Panem news_ and sipping from her coffee.

"Caauughthp!" She choked on her coffee, spitting it on the paper. "O my god!" She exclaimed.

"What? What is it? What's wrong?!" Prill shouted, stumbling into the kitchen.

"Finnick! Finnick's alive! O my god! He was _DEAD_!" She yelped, and stood, knocking over the chair and panting in excitement.

"What the heck are you talking about!" But she was already pounding up the stairs to Peeta. She flung open the door and ran to him, shoving the coffee splattered news in his face. He looked alarmed. "Katniss, what-"

"Finnick! It's Finnick! He's alive! He's a Mutt! But still in his person form! And totally himself! Here,_ READ_!" The thrust it at him and pounced onto the end of the bed while he fumbled with the paper, trying to turn it so he could read it. She bounced with excitement. His eyes widened as he read the paper, and once he finished he threw it in the air.

"Finnick is back! I can't believe it! If Panem can do that, then they could do that to anyone! They could bring any person back as a Mutt!" He said happily, hugging Katniss. She contemplated what that could mean. "Like my brothers and sisters, and my mother and father, and-"

"Prim. Rue. Rue and Prim could be with me again." She said, sitting still with shock written on her face.

"Oh yes, Katniss! We could have them back, wouldn't that be wonderful?! Hey- where are you going?" Katniss was standing up and hurling herself down the stairs.

"To Panem Capitol to request some special things!" She hollered, and he heard her coat swishing and the door slam.

**Any thoughts? I do not own any hunger games-ey stuff. **


	3. See you soon

**Chapter two**

Katniss

Katniss jogged down the road to the copter cave. She reached it soon, waving to Caynor and Seelan, the Copter runners on the way.

"Hey there, Miss Mellark! So you need a ride, eh?" Seelan asked and skipped over to her.

"Yeah! That would be great, thanks Seelan." She smiled warmly at him.

"Where to?"

"The Capitol."

"I need more info!" He shouted as they entered the whirring, noisy helicopter.

"The Capitol building…..you know, the Octagon! Where the Board of Panem always meets!"

"Oh heck yes I know that building! I love landing on that big, long white roof….such a smooth landing!" He crooned as they flew swiftly away over the snow covered lands.

Soon, they arrived after she requested a meeting with the board, Katniss almost bursting with excitement. She would soon have her Prim and her Rue back! Wouldn't that be wonderous…

"We're here!" Seelan exclaimed happily as he grinned through the window, gazing dreamily at the roof of the Octagon.

"Yes!" He landed quickly, touching down softly as she leapt out of the door.

"Hey! Watch your head! Those Copter arms are low and fast, Miss Mellark!" She ducked and thanked him, hurrying to the elevator that went to the lobby. She leapt into the Elevator, relieved to be warm again. She sighed.

"Cold out there, isn't it, Mockingjay?" She jumped and fell against a big burly blond man, looking down at her kindly.

"Oh, well, yes. Hello! I'm Katniss Everde- I mean, Mellark. You probably already knew that." He nodded solemnly, although there was a laugh in his eyes. He pursed his lips to keep from smiling.

"Tephaan Alpoon. I'm part of the board of Panem. You probably already knew that."

"Well actually, no I did not. Wait- Board of Panem? I'm going to suggest someone to them right now!"

"Someone?"He looked questioning. "Oh, I get what you mean. A Mutt? Who you want, your sister? Or that girl from the games?"

"Both." She said sheepishly under his perfectly accurate guess.

"Hm. I'll vote for your cause. You will probably get 'em, since you _are_ the Mockingjay."

"_Was_."

"Mmmhmm." They were silent the rest of the way down. "Beep. Beep. Beep. Lobby, floor one, intellectual services, Front desk, questioning hall, peace painting room. Enjoy your visit." The automated woman said on the speaker once they reached the first floor.

"I'll walk you to the request room if you'd like."

"That would be great. Thanks." They walked stiffly to the other elevator across the marble floor. They entered and he hit the "Floor 45" button. After they waited, the speaker woman spoke again,

"Is- is this thing on, Bill? Oh, darn it is- Floor 45, Electric machine testing, Mutt recreation, Request room, blue room, Board of Panem Hall, President Paylors daughters room. Enjoy your visit. Okay, is it off? Did you- no! Turn it OFF or I will- O Sh-"It cut off with a crackle. Katniss and Tephaan laughed. "What a great speaker woman."

"She's Effie Trinket."

"I thought I remembered that voice! Haha, she is _perfect _for this job!" She said as they walked out into the long marble hallway with the bright, clinical looking lights. They turned a sharp right and came to a huge bolted white door that said,

"Great Board Of Panem Hall"

"Woah, big door." Katniss said, the huge door dwarfing even the giant Tephaan. He nodded and stepped forward to a small metal microphone in the wall with a projection of a black haired man who said in a rough voice,

"Permission for visiting?" Tephaan pulled out a paper with his face and a set of complicated numbers on it, and a laser scanned it. The automated man nodded to Katniss. She pulled out the permission slip that had been spit out of the phone when she called for a request on the flight here. He nodded again. "Names?"

"Tephaan Alorry Corban Alpoon."

"Katniss Aspen Everdeen Mellark."

"Mother, Katniss?"

"Ennara Lane Everdeen."

"Welcome, Katniss Aspen Everdeen Mellark and Tephaan Alorry Corban Alpoon. Enjoy your visit." The machine said dully. The doors swung open smoothly, and they stepped in together. The room was huge- white, sleek shiny floors, the walls were made of the same thing. There was a row of tall, slanted gray glass bleachers where many people in black suits and white dresses were seated, watching their every move. Katniss waved warily. In the center of the Bleachers was a tall white glass chair surrounded by bullet proof glass where the President was supposed to sit. She wasn't there now. Katniss headed to the black chair in the center of the room, surrounded by the board of Panem. Tephaan headed up the bleachers and sat beside a woman with a green Afro. A woman with long brown hair stood. She looked like she was second in charge here- in fact, she was. She was vice president Laker!

"Welcome, Katniss Aspen Everdeen Mellark. So I hear you would like us to make a Mutt or two of your passed friends?" Some people on the bleachers whispered to each other, and Katniss heard snippets of it:

"The Mockingjay, It's the Mockingjay-"

"I know, cool isn't it-"

"A Mutt? Who does she want to bring back-"

"Probably that Prim girl and the other one-"

"Quiet!" Laker exclaimed to the people on the bleachers. "Speak, Mrs. Mellark."

"Yes Vice President, Ma'am, well, I'd like to bring my little sister, Primrose Jewel Everdeen back, and my friend from my first hunger games, Rue Cybele Averbury." Laker seemed to contemplate this for a moment, tapping her forefinger against her chin thoughtfully.

"We will speak together for a moment. Would you like both of them at the same time, or one of them at a time to test how realistic they are? And would you like them to be Mutated, or their old selves?"

"I guess…one at a time. Rue first. Not mutated, not at all, perfectly themselves."

"Alright, we will consider that. Stay quiet for a moment please while we check our idea cards." She sat down stiffly in her chair and began typing away at a computer screen that slowly went up to her desk. Everyone did the same. They were not making any noise, just facial expressions of thought as they liberated the others' ideas. This went on for almost half an hour, Katniss squirming uncomfortably in the hard glass chair. Finally, Laker stood up and spoke sternly,

"Your request is accepted. Return here or stay here for the next three days and Miss Averbury will be ready by the time your second day is over.." Katniss squealed with joy.

"Yes! Thank you! Thank you, Vice President Laker! Thank you so, so much! You don't know how grateful I am," She shouted as she skipped through the white door. "May the odds be ever in your favor!" She shouted over her shoulder, laughing. Tephaan ran out the door after her, panting.

"Boy, you have…practice….running….." He panted in between words.

"Yep! Hey, where's a phone? I have to tell my family!" She said happily. He pointed into a hallway in the wall that led to a small sound-proof glassed in room with a telephone. She made a thumbs up sign to him and ran down the hallway gleefully. Picking up the phone, she dialed her house's number quickly. Peeta picked up.

"Hello, Mellark household, who is this?"

"Me!"

"Katniss! Where are you? You've been gone half of the day!" She peeked through the window next to her and gasped. The sun was already going down!

"The Capitol, The octagon, I'm sorry, I-"

"What! You're at the capitol? Wait- _WHAT_? The _OCTAGON_?! Katniss, oh Katniss I should have gone with you-"

"No, It's alright. But guess what?!" He quieted.

"What?"

"I'm going to have Rue back tomorrow night!" He gasped through the phone.

"Oh my gosh, really? That's wonderful! So I'm guessing you won't be coming home tonight or tommorrow?"

"Yeah….Not the day after that, either. I'm sorry honey,"

"It's all right. The kids have been asking for a day or two alone with daddy for a long time, so this is perfectly okay. I'll miss you though!"

"I'll miss you too. I have to call mom, since I'm getting Prim back soon, too. I love you Peeta."

"Love you too." She hung up and punched in a set of other numbers.

"Mother!" She said when she heard the click of the phone picking up on the other end.

"Katniss! Where are you? Peeta called, he's so worried-"

"Mom, I'm at the capitol, I just called him. I am calling you from the Octagon!" She explained everything that had happened that morning, and she could almost imagine her mother nodding on the other end.

"Oh my gosh, Prim is coming soon, too?" She yelped.

"Yes Mother!"

"Oh my! Oh my dear- My Prim is coming back! Oh, I have to go set up her room and- and- and- Bye honey, good luck with Rue! Talk to you later, love ya!"

"Love you too!" Her mother hung up. She strode out of the glass room, meeting Tephaan and a chubby purple haired woman on the corner.

"Hello, Mrs. Everdeen!" The chubby woman said in a cheery, bubbly voice.

"Hello. It's Mellark now."

"Oh, Mrs. Mellark, alright, I got it. So I am Eeno Beelanz. It's wonderful to get to know you! So I will be your helper, guide, you know what I mean. I will show you your room if you like," She was practically bursting with energy, but sagged when she said the next words-"unless, of course, you won't be staying overnight."

"Oh, don't worry Eeno, I'm going to be staying here for the night. So where is my room? I'm sure it's great."

"Oh, ooh, follow me! It's just wonderful, bright gorgeous curtains in an elegant white, those pretty light yellow floors and sheets….." She continued talking, but Katniss gave up trying to listen: Eeno spoke much too quickly in that high pitched, excited voice for anyone to understand her. She imagined what it would be like to see Rue again, to play with her, to see her natural, warm smile again. But then a bad picture came into her mind- Rue's cold corpse laying, sprawled out on a metal table in a clinical looking room, spear still in her stomach, face stuck in a gruesome grimace. She shuddered.

"We're here!" Eeno exclaimed cheerfully, cheeks pink as she spread her arms wide to make a dramatic view of a perfectly normal looking black door. "Welcome, go on in. I'll be back later to get you for dinner!" She waddled away gleefully, grinning.

"What a funny little woman." Katniss said after she was around the corner.

"Oh yes, she's actually my secretary. It's quite fun working here with that funny little woman around all the time. She's very…..bouncy? I guess that's a good word. And she simply adores you. Not that I don't see a reason why anyone wouldn't." Tephaan smiled to her.

"So…are you going to go in your new room anytime soon?" He nodded to the door, and Katniss giggled to herself and pushed the door open lightly. The door went open at her fingerprints. This was only accessible by very particular people, apparently. She held it open as Tephaan followed her in. She smirked at the pretty little room. The floors were a white, shiny, milky glass once again, as they were almost everywhere in the Octagon. The walls were a clean, bright and sunny yellow, as were the fluffy blankets on the canopy bed. There was a warm fire burning in a tan fireplace in the corner, a chocolate brown coffee table and a slightly yellow, puffy couch in front of it. There was also a perfectly round brown wood table with a yellow top and a vase of flowers on top against a wood rimmed window in the other corner. The view outside was stunning. The snow covered meadows spread between the huge skyscrapers, with were caked with heavy white snow. Past the main downtown was a set of neighborhoods filled with big, beautiful Villas, covered in Christmas lights and trees sitting in the windows, children and their friends and family decorating them together, laughing. Far in the distance, just to top off the view were a group of ten mountains covered in pines and other dead trees, just waiting for their Rebirth, their awakening.

"Do you like it?" Tephaan asked hopefully.

"Oh yeah, I love it!" She grinned at him and went over to lean against the fluffy couch. "It's beautiful."

"Oh good. Now I think I should probably leave you to yourself now, I have an important job or three to do. Sorry that I have to leave like this, but I'll be at dinner tonight." He waved and headed out the white door, leaving her alone in the pleasant little room. She wandered around the room for a moment, then walking into the little yellow bathroom. There in the closet was her suitcase, everything in it unpacked and hung up. Man, these Capitol people were _good._ So she changed into lighter clothes, much better for the warm little room. After dressing and reading a good book on the couch for an hour or so, she went over to the mini-fridge behind the bed and grabbed a granola bar and some Soda, seating herself at the round table and staring absentmindedly out the window, chewing the crunchy granola. For a long time, she wandered around the room and waited for dinner to come, thinking of Rue and Prim and her family the whole time.

"Knock Knock, Dinner's ready Mrs. Everdeen!" The squeaky voice of Eeno came through the door. She opened it warily, Katniss already standing right in front of the door, very hungry. They walked down the hall towards the dinner room, Eeno chattering away gleefully the entire time. Katniss zoned out. They burst through the gray door, sitting down at the long, shiny glass table. Tephaan was there, sitting about five seats down from her. Eeno sat happily next to Katniss, smirking with pride at the fact that she was sitting next to _The_ Katniss Everdeen Mellark. Katniss looked around at all of the people. Jeez, what was up with these clean, bare colors here? Everyone had white or gray outfits. Their backs were so straight, so strict. But at least a few had friendly enough smiles. Then a redheaded set of servants walked out from two metal doors with steaming dishes in their hands. After placing them on the table, everyone got to eating the delectable food. A few times Katniss thought she caught a cold, disgusted glance from one or two of the capitol workers. She ignored them and continued gorging herself.

After they had finished, they all stood up and dusted off the crumbs from their laps.

"Off to your rooms, everyone!" A tall, fat man said and clapped his hands, making the floor under each of the people split up and become floating platforms, with the people still on them. Katniss exclaimed a shocked curse word and wobbled in her spot, but all of the other people stood like stones. She tried to imitate them, wobblingly. Then the slabs pulled through the walls that slid open and Katniss landed, face first, on her bed.

"Ow." She groaned against her sheets. She stumbled into the bathroom, exhausted, and changed into her striped pajamas. She layed down in the fluffy bed and curled up, smiling.

"I'll see you again soon, Rue. I'll see you again, Prim…." She whispered before she fell into the abyss of sleep.


	4. I'm leaving here

Chapter Three

Rue paced. She felt strange. There was a tug…. Slight, painful tug, like she was tied to something and someone was pulling on the other end…finally she sat down on Claudia's kitchen chair.

"WHAT!" Claudia hollered after Rue explained how she was feeling. She knocked over a giant crystal ball. Rue caught it before it fell to the ground and shattered.

"What is it? What's wrong?" She asked, flustered.

"It means-it means- so you say it feels like something is pulling you?" She asked Rue again as she sifted through a huge mountain of books, clearly searching for something.

"Yes. Why?" She asked, confused and alarmed by Claudia's strange behavior. "Well, let me see!" She responded, her voice muffled by the hill of books now on top of her.

"Can I help you?" She asked hesitantly, slowly rising from her chair.

"Oh, no, I'm fine, you know me, always-"She gasped and made a triumphant huff- "Here! Here it is!" Tugging out a fat book, she shoved her glasses up her nose and slapped through the book, mumbling to herself. She stopped at one page, read through it, and looked up at Rue with wide eyes.

"Someone is doing something to your corpse." Rue felt herself fainting for the first time ever.

Chapter four

Katniss awoke, ate breakfast and lunch, and pretty much paced, cried, and stared out the window. She would have visited Finnick, but Tephaan said that only Annie could see him now, for she clearly needed some time alone with him. So she sat in her room, itching with excitement. Finally, she heard quick little feet flitting down the hallway to her room.

"Knock Knock Mrs. Everdeen! Dinner time!" She waddled into the little room, squeezing herself through the door. Katniss got up and followed her to the dinner hall. Again, she sat down and ate the delicious food impatiently. _Why am I not with Rue right now? _She thought impatiently, stuffing more food into herself.

Finally, after what seemed like hours, the fat man exclaimed "To your rooms, everyone!" And Katniss was pulled back into her room. She sighed and plopped down onto her bed. She would gladly have met with Finnick today, but the capitol people said he was being tested on their accuracy. She sighed again, feeling lonelier than ever. She waited right there for what felt like hours, and finally, the tapping little knock came.

"Knock Knock, Mrs. Everdeen, Rue's coming!" Katniss ran to the door, flung it open, and stumbled out. Eeno looked extremely surprised. She smiled and started leading Katniss down a long white hallway. Chattering away, she walked hurriedly, her legs bouncing with every step.

"Oh, Mrs. Everdeen, Rue looks just wonderful, they've laid her on such a pretty silver table…." She started downing out her words in boredom, itching to go see Rue, but also scared. What if Rue didn't turn out to be like she was before? What if she was mean, cold, sad, angry…..she was terrified. The last time she had seen her was when Rue was a Wolf-Mutt who wanted to kill her. She whimpered quietly.

"Here we are!" Eeno sang cheerily. She shoved open a large black door that did not look welcoming. Inside, all of the lights were out except for one spotlight. Katniss walked forward and saw that there, under the light of the spotlight, was a cold metal table. On that table lay Rue's corpse.

She shouldn't be here.

This was wrong.

Just too wrong. Too scary.

Rue's shell lay there on the table, her brown skin seeming dead and lifeless. She was naked except for one white cloth over her waist down, and her shiny black hair was sprawled around her head. There was still one flower in her hair, left from the arena….

Eeno slammed the door shut. Suddenly, there was a whirring machine sound. This was it….Rue was on her way. She was coming. Katniss jumped when she saw a rattling breath shake through Rue's body, and then the fluttering of her eyelids.

Chapter Six

Rue sat with Claudia, Araminta, Akiko, Teagan and Prim. The tugging was worse. It was extremely painful now.

"What is it? Is it worse now?" Prim asked worriedly.

"Yes. It feels…it…feels…like…my soul..is being….torn….to…..piec-pieces…" She gasped, choking on her own air between each word.

"But that's not possible, because you are a soul!" Teagan exclaimed.

"I don't know why…but I'm…leaving…here, please…don't leave me…until I'm gone…." She didn't know where the words came from, but they still rolled from her lips. Everyone took her hands and squeezed them softly. What good friends she had. She was sad that she was leaving to go to…somewhere. She had no idea where, though. Suddenly, she could no longer breathe. She felt herself cracking, dissolving, liquefying, leaving. The faces of her friends wavered in front of her eyes, and she dove into darkness. She saw a horribly light. She felt her memory leave her.

She was in the 74th hunger games again. She lay there, the spear crushed through her body. Why didn't it hurt? Katniss's face hovered over her. Why wasn't she singing?

She fumbled around her stomach. There was no spear. Where was it? Where was she? What was happening? Then all of her memories flooded back into her mind. There was no light around her, only on her. Why was someone shining a spotlight on her? She felt heavy. So very, very heavy. She noticed, shocked, that she had a soft heartbeat throbbing in her chest. Heartbeat? That was something only living people had. She was dead. Or was she? Teagan and Prim and Claudia weren't there. What where they doing? She had told them to stay until she was gone. She wasn't gone. She decided to try and figure it out, so she concentrated on Katniss's worried face hovering over her. Why wasn't She covered in other tributes blood, the dirt from the arena, the fear glowing in her eyes? But they weren't in the arena…..

"Rue?!" Katniss exclaimed, clearly alarmed.

"Katniss?" She was shocked to hear her voice so hoarse and uneven. "Katniss, what's going on? Where am I? What happened?" Katniss just threw her arms around her. She gasped and hugged her back tightly, rejoicing in the fact that she could actually feel her, without falling through. Katniss started explaining how they were in the Octagon, and why she had come here, to make Rue a Mutt.

"Oh my gosh….that's…that's…so sweet of you!" She said, her smooth, beautiful voice slowly returning to her. She threw her arms around Katniss once again. When she pulled away, she looked down at herself.

"Um, can I please have some clothes? This feels weird,"

"Oh, um, let me go ask Eeno, I'll be right back."

"Oh, okay. Hurry back." Katniss nodded and darted through the heavy doors. She waited for about five minutes, getting lonelier. Suddenly the door slammed shut and a chubby woman with purple hair walked out with Katniss, who was holding a pile of clothes in her arms.

"Oh yes, it's wonderfully soft and comftorable, and we know her brainwaves so we have a perfect idea of what her favorite clothing type is! Comfy, fitting, warm, soft, kind of attractive…" She kept on blabbering, but Rue drowned out her words. Katniss sat the clothes at Rue's side, who then began to inspect the outfit.

There was a brown, long sleeved, button-up sweater with white cuffs, a pair of comfy looking red-brown slacks and a pair of black tennis-shoes, and warm, soft underclothes. She quickly hid behind Katniss's back and started dressing. It felt wonderful to be in different clothes after so many years. She smiled.

"Rue, this is Eeno Beelanz. She's our guide." Katniss swished her hand to the pink haired woman, who nodded her head excitedly. "Oh, you're even prettier when you're not dead!" She blurted.

"Uh, thanks."

"Hey Rue, do you think you can stand up? I'll help you," Katniss asked. Eeno nodded and went to help turn Rue around on the bed so she was sitting up on the edge. She looped her arms through Eeno and Katniss's arms, and slowly, stumblingly, pulled herself up onto her feet. After a minute or two, when she was steadied, she took one wobbling step. Then another. And another, until she had walked to the metal door.

"I want to get out of this room…it's scary." Katniss agreed and pushed open the door with her free arm. After a while they arrived in a quaint little yellow themed room. There was a second bed with forest green sheets, her favorite color.

"Oh, wow! This is so cute," She exclaimed happily, grinning.

"Yeah, these capitals really know how to make the perfect room for you." She responded. She headed over to Rue's bed and carefully set Rue down on the fluffy blankets. Rue sighed.

"Well, I'd better be on my way, Mr. Alpoon needs some assistance. Good-bye! Click the buzzer if you need me." Eeno said cheerily, pointing to the red button next to the bed.

"Alright, see you later Eeno, thanks for helping me with Rue."

"No problem, Mrs. Mellark!" She said, and waddled out the door.

"Funny little woman," Rue said.

"Yeah, she sure is."

"Katniss….I'm, I think, I'm tired!" She said, awestruck.

"Oh, you are? Alright, here look! One of the workers must have left some PJ's for you." She reached over and helped Rue pull on a blue Pajama dress that reached around her knees.

"Thanks, Kat" She said, yawning. She stretched and curled up under the soft, fluffy sheets.

"You're welcome, Rue. Sleep tight." She began to drift off into the deep, beautiful abyss of sleep, but before she closed her eyes, she saw a flick of Red curls and a Ocean blue colored Eye, shrouded by a white, ghostlike form.

It was Teagan.


	5. Home

Chapter six

_How on earth have I just seen Teagan? I'm alive now and Teagan isn't. But, I've been Dead for a very long time. Maybe that gives me the ability to see ghosts?_ Rue thought just after she woke up. In the night she had seen very life-like visions of Claudia and Araminta, and Teagan and Prim, but they were all frenzied and crying. She couldn't be remembering them that way, for she had never seen them doing such things before.

"Rue? Are you awake?" She opened her eyes to see Katniss laying in her bed, watching her. "Yeah.." She responded. "Katniss, can I come into your bed?"

"Sure" She answered, and lifted the blanket welcomingly. Rue dragged herself out of her bed and walked the short distance between their beds, and layed down in Katniss's strong, sisterly arms. They snuggled like sisters like that for a long time, and finally they stood up and got dressed, and then they packed their bags. Today they would be going back to District 12. Soon they were all ready, and walked out of the door.

This world meant nothing to either of them anymore-the only place they would be safe and fine and right, would be their home.

District Twelve.

**DUN-DUN-DUN, ta-da! Finished it in one night XD Best record ever! Anyway. I am thinkin' of makin' a sequel, Rue/Thresh? Any thoughts?**


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